The Timelessness of Christmas

Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus as a baby. I’ve been reflecting on how the impact of that one day in history extends throughout all of time! There was a day and time when Mary gave birth to Jesus, and it was so very long ago! And yet, it is an event that has changed the landscape of our lives forever.

As Christians, we believe that the birth of Jesus was an extraordinary event, a miracle of miracles. It was the fulfillment of many prophecies given throughout the Old Testament times. We believe that Jesus was born to Mary and raised by her and Joseph, but that He was the son of God…conceived within Mary by the Holy Spirit. We believe that He lived a life without sin, so that His death paid the price for the sin of mankind. Once Jesus was resurrected from the dead, the power of sin and death was overcome by the purity and righteousness of Jesus. Our faith in this reality gives us access to Jesus, God and all the resources of heaven in addition to eternal life with God.

When the birth of Jesus was announced to the shepherds, the voice of God said it was “good news of great joy for all people”. (Luke 2:10) The disciple John writes that it was love that motivated God to send Jesus as a baby. (John 3:16) God’s desire for relationship with mankind was so great that He found a way for the debt of our sin to be paid that He could extend grace and love to us. He brought us into intimacy with Him, through Jesus, and united us with the love and power that they share.

Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Jesus, is the moment that made our relationship with God possible. But the impact of that moment is not bound in anyway by time! 

We see in many places in scripture that God and Jesus are not bound by time in the way that humanity is. John describes Jesus in Revelation 1, verse 4 as “the one who is and who was and who is to come”. In his gospel, John clarifies that Jesus was present with God at the beginning of time and when the earth was created. (John 1:1-5)

While there was a moment in time when Jesus was born as a baby, and a moment in time when He was crucified and died, His existence was not bound to His lifespan. Jesus existed before His birth as a man and He still exists today, centuries after His death, resurrection and ascension. 

That reality is also what we celebrate at Christmas! The impact of the birth of Jesus, the miracles He did, the words He spoke – is still alive today. Those events, in the timeline of His life, were significant then and yet are still as significant today. Jesus revealed the character and nature of God. We can know God today, because we can know Jesus through the scripture and through faith. We can have relationship with the Holy Spirit by faith in Jesus.

The Holy Spirit brings power and life to the events we read about in the life span of Jesus on the earth. Reading about those events can impact our current lives and mindsets as we allow our faith to engage and draw us into an encounter with God. In this way, the scripture is timeless. The power and love of God is not bound by time. The resources of heaven do not expire, run out or wear out! They exist outside of time. 

I believe that the events during Jesus’ time on earth can impact my past, present and future. I believe that when I encounter Jesus, life is released and I am changed. That change is not bound by time. God is still redeeming my past, even as I encounter Him in the present. My hope and expectation for my future is impacted by the ways I encounter God now. Faith is my access to this timelessness of God and the impact it has on my life.

Jesus is the One who was, who is and who is to come. I know Jesus now, but He is not limited to the current season of my life. My faith in Him allows more than my present day to be impacted by His love and truth. My faith grants me access to the realm outside of time.

These are the questions I’ve been asking myself as I consider this new understanding:

1.     What am I currently learning about God? How have I encountered God in new ways recently?

     2.     Do I have faith that this new experience can and will redeem my past?  In what way(s)?

3.     How is my current reality and also my hope for the future being shaped by what I’m learning? 

4.     What am I hoping for? Asking for? Watching for?

The light, truth, joy, hope of Christmas – the birth of Jesus, these things never expire, get weary or wear out!  They are substances of heaven and so they are not subject to the laws of the earth realm. They are timeless, just as Jesus Himself is timeless. My faith gives me access to the fullness of Jesus now and forever.

In that regard I am timeless as well!